Hide and Seek
by FairyTailxoLove
Summary: An unidentified serial killer is on the loose in Magnolia, Year 1880. Amidst the grisly macabre lives a teenage girl with no real ties but to Fairy Bar. She dreams of solving this mystery, but ends up in a cruel mockery of a Cat and Mouse game. The question is: What will happen once she gets caught? Based off of Jack the Ripper. AU. Rating may go up. GaLe! Read and Review!


**AN: I bet that you were thinking that this would be a fluffy story like all my other stories, right? Well think again!**

**This story is loosely based on the tale of Jack the Ripper ("Jack the Ripper" is the best-known name given to an unidentified serial killer who was active in the largely impoverished areas in and around the Whitechapel district of London in 1888. Attacks ascribed to the Ripper typically involved female prostitutes from the slums whose throats were cut prior to abdominal mutilation.)**

**I'd rather not make our beloved characters "prostitutes", so in this story the killer targets people who work/associate in Bars/Pubs.**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. Hiro Mashima does. He also owns all the characters in it, when let's be honest...I wouldn't mind saying that Gajeel is MINE! But sadly, he isn't. :( Neither is Levy or anyone else in this story, for that matter!**

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Summary:

It was the autumn of 1880; Magnolia, a rising town filled with powerful people, was at its lowest. The economy was bad, crime rates were high, and the population soared far beyond how much one could count.

In this sniveling town rested a lively bar by the name of Fairy Bar. Fairy Bar was a place where one could drown out their sorrows in return for smiles. They caused trouble, but never got caught. They were social outcasts, but the life of the party. They lived life to no limit...

Until they had no life at all.

In this particular year, chaos strikes the once jolly Bar. A serial killer is on the loose, striking fear deep into the very core of the residents.

What can one do when the police refuse to help?

And amidst the grisly macabre lives a teenage girl with no real ties but to Fairy Bar. She dreams of solving this mystery, but ends up in a cruel mockery of a Cat and Mouse game.

The question is:

What will happen once she gets caught?

…~~~~~~~~~~~~~…

"Come on, deary! Have a dance with me, will ya?"

The blue-haired girl watched in blunt fascination as her blonde best friend was winning the hearts of every man in Fairy Bar that night.

The young lady with the golden hair swung around in a circle, clapping her hands and laughing, all the while swaying to the jovial music.

The blue haired girl -also a young lady, but twice as small- sat perched by the bar, a glass of water dangling in one hand and a heavy book in the other.

"What do you have there, Levy?"

The sky-kissed maiden turned around, smiling up at the Bar's most famous barmaid, Mirajane Strauss.

"Oh, it's just a book that l picked up from the library," she admitted, creasing the pages nervously.

However, if the beautiful Barmaid disapproved, she had done a good job of hiding it.

Seventeen year old Levy McGarden turned back around to study the different people gathered in Fairy Bar that night, all laughing and full of mirth amongst the hazy air.

When the government and society looked down upon the pubs that caused such a great ripple amongst Magnolia, Fairy bar just turned a deaf ear and blind eye towards them. Not to mention that half the residents would always stop by for a drink or two..._always_.

And what's not to love? Fairy Bar was a charming little thing; with Victorian designs and furnishings, music that played all night long, and some of the most beautiful women one can ever see? Levy could certainly understand the appeal and intrigue...she felt it too, when she first stepped into this new world.

"Hey, Levy! Why are you so dolled up tonight? You're not trying to take home a fella, are ya?"

Levy turned to the source of the voice; a flushed face, exotic-looking brunette who revealed too skin much to be considered appropriate.

The bluenette's face burned warmly at the thought as her friends smirked.

"Hey, I'll take you home, peach!" A man slurred, raising his drink in salute.

Levy laughed nervously, waving away the perverse comments.

"I'm not dolled up. Lucy made me wear this," Levy protested. She looked around defensively to make sure that she was heard.

She wore a pale orange, low cut and off-shoulder evening gown that contrasted nicely with her exuberant blue hair. The corset worn underneath helped the young lady look more like a lady, and the skirt was flat in the front, but flared out from behind. The look was complete with pearls and opera-length cream colored gloves, which Lucy insisted she borrow.

Thinking that the Bar was getting a tad bit too rowdy for her taste, Levy stood up, flattening out her skirts.

"I think that I'll call it a night, and see you all tomorrow. Goodnight!"

She smiled merrily as she was about to leave, but Cana jerked forward and gripped her arm.

"Wait! You're not about to leave on your own, are you?"

With a puzzled frown, Levy glanced back at her friend.

"Why ever not?"

"You haven't heard?" Cana gaped, her eyes wide.

"What are you blabbing about?" Lucy, a buxom blonde of seventeen, joined the two, still panting from the exertion of the dance.

"You ladies haven't heard about the Magnolia Murders?"

"Magnolia...Murders?"

"Oh! I've heard about that too. Alzack was telling me," Bisca, another Fairy Bar member sat down next to Cana, a worried look on her face. Her betrothed, Alzack, worked with the Police Force in Magnolia.

Though the Fairy bar consisted of unwed, unattainable females, there were a few exceptions.

"I beg your pardon? I haven't heard about any murders..." Lucy's head swiveled around, a small crease forming on her forehead.

Lucy's father was wealthy, and ran many businesses in Magnolia. If anyone knew anything, it would be Mr. Heartfilia.

"The police are really hush-hush about it," Cana explained, grinning at everyone's scandalized expressions.

Just then, Mirajane had come over with a platter of beverages. In tow was a little girl; a small, cute little thing who goes by the name of Wendy.

"What are they hush-hush about?" Mira asked curiously.

"The Magnolia Murders!" Lucy drawled in a deep, eerie voice.

When Wendy yelped, Mirajane wrapped a comforting arm around her, and shot Cana a look.

"That's just folklore, missy! Don't you scare the little ones."

"But it's true!" Cana claimed forcefully, not one to back down.

"Last night, I was heading home around four in the morning-"

"-You left here around twelve!" Lucy pointed out, looking confused.

"I...went with someone," Cana clarified reluctantly. She glared at the girls, daring them to comment, which naturally, they did.

"Was it Macao?" Levy asked lewdly, as the rest of the girls tittered.

"No! Macao was passed out by the tables over there, a puddle of drool forming around him!" Lucy laughed charmingly, glancing at the fuming brunette out of the corner of her eye.

"Oh, was it Bacchus? The new fella around here?" Mira asked curiously, her eyes twinkling with mischief. Cana struggled with her words as her face turned beet red.

"LET ME FINISH MY STORY!"

Once the girls calmed down, Cana resumed her story.

"As I was walking home by myself, I passed a shadowy figure-"

"Shadowy? How could one be shadowy?" Levy interrupted.

"He moved like a shadow! I wouldn't have even seen him if it weren't for the fact I was stumbling all over the place, and stumbled onto him."

"You fell on the Magnolia Murderer?!" Wendy stared at Cana with awe.

"Hold on now, how do we know that this is the murderer?" Levy asked curiously.

"Because this morning, there was a giant scene near where I bumped into the man, in an alleyway. They say it was some random girl who was on her way home from a pub...he had slit her from nose-" Cana reached forward and with the flesh of her index finger, softly tapped Wendy on her nose.

"-To navel!"

Quickly, she poked Wendy's stomach, making the younger girl squeal.

Levy smiled and defiantly rolled her eyes.

"I've heard enough of this. If you're done, I'm going to go home now."

As Levy made her way through the crowd of dancing people, her friends' chorus of goodbyes followed her out.

It was chilly that night; goose bumps pricked her soft skin and her breath was visible as she let out a puff of air.

There was no one around as well; everyone was either at the Bar or at home.

**Clap clap clap clap.**

Levy's shoes echoed off of the cobblestone ground so loud that it unnerved her.

**Clap clap clap clap.**

As she walked, her skirts swishing around her small body this way and that, her thoughts drifted towards -naturally- books.

Wait! She had left her precious book on the table she was occupying at the Bar!

Levy muttered unintelligibly under her breath. The teenage girl was already halfway home...should she go get her book?

She abruptly turned around, and briskly began walking towards the bar.

**Clap clap clap clap **_**SNAP**_**.**

Levy paused, and with a slow, mechanical movement, turned around to face...

Nothing. The stone-paved street she was walking on was empty.

"That's odd..." She murmured to herself. She had heard the sound of a twig snapping, but there wasn't any twigs around her.

**Clap clap clap clap.**

A breeze blew by Levy, gently and briefly lifting her curls away from her face.

**Clap clap clap clap **_**SNAP**_**.**

Levy swiveled around, taking in her surroundings. There was definitely a noise coming from behind her. If she had continued on her way home, if she hadn't forgotten her book, she would have intercepted with that noise by now...

Levy shuddered, and clutched her purse in her right hand.

"It's probably an animal," she muttered. "But still..."

"I know you're out there," Levy called out, her voice echoing across the street. She hated the fact that her voice sounded strained and squeaky. Town houses and shops were on either side of the rode, seeming to cave her in.

"Why don't you come out and face me like a man, Baka?!" She shouted, placing her hands on her hips. She felt foolish, shouting at a nonexistent person, but she just needed to say SOMETHING to break the tense silence.

When Levy heard another rustle, all her bravado left her tiny body in seconds.

She turned around and began to briskly walk to the bar, her wretched skirts getting in the way.

**THUD THUD THUD.**

That wasn't an animal. Those were definitely footsteps. Kicking off her heels, Levy clutched her skirts and ran, fear not allowing her to look over her shoulder.

Abruptly, she turned into an alleyway, and hid behind a dumpster.

_"Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why would you hide in a dead end?"_She scolded herself, all the while quivering.

She waited, wildly trying to control her labored breathing. The hems of her skirts were coated in mud and guck, her up-do was falling apart, and she was breaking out into cold sweat.

_"There is no such thing as the Magnolia Murderer..."_She repeatedly chanted herself.

She cursed Cana for filling her mind with that silly story. Who in the right mind would want to slice her up from nose to navel? Levy felt nauseous.

She heard footsteps approach, but she didn't close her eyes. Fists clenched, she took a deep breath. She was going to go down fighting. She was not going to sit by and-

"Levy-chan?"

Levy let out a sob, her already weak knees seeming to fail her as she tried to stand. Droy immediately rushed over to her, putting her arm over his shoulder in support.

"D-d-droy?" Her teeth chattered uncontrollably.

"Jet! She's over here!"

She could hardly believe that her friend was standing in front of her.

Soon enough, Jet ran up to the duo, Levy's book cradled in his arms.

"Levy-chan! We were looking for you! You forgot your book and...and what happened to you?" Jet stared in shock at her disheveled form.

"That...that was YOU guys following me?!"

"Err, yeah. We knew you'd come back for your book, so we saved you the trouble." Droy gently took her arm, leading her out of the dirty alleyway.

Feeling stupid, Levy followed them out.

_"So, it wasn't the Magnolia Murderer. Oh, you stupid, stupid girl_." Levy smiled to herself, shaking her head softly.

Jet said something funny, which made the blue-haired girl laugh, a bright smile slowly blooming onto her face.

"You guys will always be there for me, ne?" She smiled softly, regarding her friends with love.

"Of course Levy! We're a Team!" They shouted joyously at the same time, flanking either side of her.

The trio walked down the street, arms linked, laughing in a place that was soon to be filled with screams...

********…********************…..****************

The man was angry. Truth be told, he was more amused than annoyed.

That little wench had escaped him, and got away with questioning his manhood. A feat that had never been accomplished before.

He sat, one leg over the other, and ran a finger down the side of his blade.

Absentmindedly, he reached down and caressed his pet. He was a man of solitude, but he loved his pets.

The pet stirred from its slumber, and slowly opened its eyes, blinking up at him. His pet did not make a sound.

Taking his knife, he waved it back and forth in front of his pet. He wanted to hear it speak.

His fingers drifted down and pulled the tape that was latched across his pet's face. The pet let out a sob.

"P-p-p-p-please don't kill me. Please," it cried, long black hair plastered against its wet cheeks.

He regarded the pet fondly.

"But I must."

The pet -an intoxicated girl he found loitering around an empty street- began to cry in earnest, her shoulders shaking.

He usually wasn't this cruel. He usually took about half an hour at the most to play with his pet.

But you see…he was in a foul mood. Oh yes, a dark, dark mood.

He could not take his mind off of that minx from the alleyway. The way she had turned around instead of fled. That defiant pose when she put her hands on her hips, a scowl on her face.

But the telltale signs of her terror were there. Even from a distance, he could see her shaking like a leaf. And her tiny, pale face looked ever so lovely under the streetlights.

She was the first one to ever escape him.

"So," he thought to himself, staring at the pet on the floor. "It isn't on my head if this pet suffers a cruel, long death. It's entirely the blue-haired girl's fault..."

He drew his sharpened blade and smiled widely as the girl began to scream.

"...It's entirely_ Levy's _fault."

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**AN: Since it's the month of October, I thought I should do something scary/Halloween-y.**

**Fun fact: I love Halloween.**

**So, I'm starting ANOTHER story, but this one might be a short one. :)**

**And it is GaLe! It's just not all hearts and flowers and bunnies and rainbows since there's a serial killer on the loose...**

**Review please!**

**P.S. If you're reading my other story, Can't Touch This, I just want to let you know that it's on the way! :)**

**FairyTailxoLove**


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